Setonaikai islands, Kagawa prefecture (1)

Hello and welcome back!! Forgive for always being slow but well as you already know, I will always come back with something no matter what XD

Today I will be writing about Tamaki Hiroshi san’s journey to three islands in the setonaikai (Seto inland sea) → Megijima, Ogijima and Teshima (Kagawa Prefecture).

There are actually 3000 islands in the Seto inland sea, including the tiny inhabitant islands.

In order to get to the islands, Tamaki san needs to get on a ferry at the port of Takamatsu in Kagawa prefecture.

As he enters the port, Tamaki san says that it’s a well-made and lively port. It’s probably because there are many islands in setonaikai and many visitors use this port to access them.

He greets the people working at the port and then gets on the ferry.

(Looking at the ferry from outside, he says that it looks cute XD )

OK! Heading to Megijima, Tamaki san starts his journey in Setonaikai.

During his 20 minutes stay on the ferry…

Tamaki san has a chat with the other travelers and asks a man about Megijima.

The man says that it’s an island with a legend, the Oni (Demon) island. 100 years ago, they “made” a legend about the demon living in this island.

Tamaki san laughs while saying that a legend is something that must be transferred to the next generation by word of mouth.

But actually “Making” it 100 years ago is another interesting thing XD

There’s even a statue of a cute demon saying welcome to the travelers who enter the island riding on the ferry.

But somehow… his face is heading toward the island and not the ferry!!

Tamaki san of course notices that as he always sticks to the tiniest details and asks questions about them XD So he says: “Why is it facing Megijima… it should be facing the opposite direction, right?”

But then he starts thinking and wonders if there’s a reason XD

Then when they pass it and he looks at it from a distance, he says: “But it looks pretty good from here… Somehow looks like the Statue of Liberty in New York!!” XD

hahahahahaha always says the best things!!

Getting off the ferry and starting his journey in Megijima, Tamaki san finds an amazing stone wall which he says it reminds him of Okinawa.

He enters the narrow road to take a look around.

Seems like he is interested in the stone wall XD

Then as they are shooting, an old man appears from the other side and Tamaki san greets him with a hello and explains to him that they are shooting a TV show.

The old man is surprised and still has no idea what’s going on.

Tamaki san gets closer to him and as he stands beside him,

the old man looks at his face and says: “You’re one good looking man!!” 

ahahahaha!!! Tamaki san shakes his head as he always do and denies it… but the old man doesn’t give up and continues: “You have a beautiful face!”

hehehehe this time Tamaki san becomes a little bit embarrassed and laughs in a very cute way !! (You can hear the staff laughing behind the camera!)

He wants to change the subject as soon as he can so he asks the old man if he was born and raised in Megijima, but he says that he has lived here for 27 years and he is actually from Takamatsu. Then Tamaki san asks him about the stone walls and the reason why they have built such strong walls here.

The old man explains that the walls are made to avoid the strong winds and the waves.

Seems like they have very strong winds blowing here in the island during the winter time.

Then he keeps talking and taking about the winds and the walls and what would have happened if the walls were not built…

Tamaki san of course keeps listening to him but then the old man stops, looks at him and says: “Maybe I shouldn’t be talking too much, right?”

hehehehehe he is adorbale!!! Tamaki san immediately says: “No it’s alright. You just talked to us about some very useful info!”  and then laughs kindly.

Leaving the old man, Tamaki san starts walking again and finds a field of corn with an old lady working on it.

He greets the lady and asks her if she works here all by herself, and she says yes!

“Must be tough!!” Tamaki san says!! and the lady says that there are more than 4500 of them she has to take care of!!

Then the lady shows him the baby corns she is holding in her hand and tells him that they can be eaten raw.

He is surprised and then asks him: “Where are these baby corns?” (On the plants he means) and the lady gets inside the field to show him where the baby corns grow on the plants.

Then Tamaki san joins her in the field after getting the lady’s permission.

The lady explains to him while showing him the plants.

It’s hard to pull the baby corns out without damaging them. It’s a tough job after all.

Then she pulls one tiny corn out and hands it to Tamaki san.

He holds it in his hand for the camera, so that  we can see it clearly.

The baby corn is inside…

Then the lady peels off the skin for him…

and it becomes a real baby corn you usually get to see!!

Tamaki san goes for a bite…

It’s sweet he says and it has a very nice texture in your mouth which makes it even tastier.

The lady tells him about the tough process of getting the corns ready for sale and Tamaki san once again says that it must be really tough!!

Then she also says that she used to do the same kind of job in Takamatsu until she was 69 but then she moved here more than 10 years ago… and now she is 81…

Tamaki san is surprised and asks: “81?” and they both laugh!! He is amazed to see how she can do such a tough job like this despite being 81!!

As he thanks her and is about to leave, the lady asks him where he is planning to go after this, and he just tells her that they are planning to have a walk around and decide where to go as they move around. 

Then he asks her if she has any recommendations for them and she tells him that they better go to the Kaigan street and go all the way to beach.

Tamaki san thanks her once more, bows, says goodbye and starts walking again holding the baby corns he received from her in his hands.

Next he goes to the beach.

Walking on the beach, he finds two kids playing on the sands with their mother.

He gets close to them and says hi and asks if he can have a short chat with them and of course the lady says it’ alright.

The two kids seem to be a little bit uncomfortable at first…

Then he asks them what they are doing and when he looks at the sands and see what they have drawn on the ground, he says: “Playing hopscotch?” And while the kids are still silent, their mother says yes XD

Then Tamaki san asks her (Matsuuchi san) if she is from Megijima and she says yes. And then they talk about how quiet and nice this place is.

Then Tamaki san says that it must be safe for the kids to play around here since you get to see them wherever they go and also says that it’s nice to have so many places you can use as your playground.

Their mother agrees and says that it’s like they have so many relatives around and they always look after the kids. Tamaki san says: “I bet they are all very kind people.” 

Then Tamaki san asks Matsuuchi san how many kids there are on this island and surprisingly she replies: “Just my two kids!” O_O They even have a great school on the island but since there are no students, it’s closed, and her children should go all the way to Takamatsu to go to school!

The little girl (Akari chan) is now 7 and in her sceond year of elementary school and the young man (Hinata kun)is 5.

Tamaki san points at Takamatsu at the other side of the waters and says that it’s clearly visible from here…

But even being this close, going there by the ferry everyday must be tough for the kid.

Then Matsuuchi san says that  it’s a great day and the air is really clean and the weather is perfect. Tamaki san agrees saying that it feels wonderful and it’s a perfect day for walking around…

Then she points at the top of a  mountain in the distance and says that there is an even better place up there… an observation deck on top of the mountain…

Tamaki san is interested and says: “Maybe I’ll go take a look around!”…

Then he looks at the two kids and says:

“Let’s all go together? Will you come with me?!”

hehehehehe

The two kids look at him with confused impressions on their faces…

but Hinata kun says: “OK!” And Akari chan moves her head down which means OK!

And Tamaki san says: “Take me there then!!” XD hahahahaha young guides for free!!!

Hinata kun says: “OK… It’s too far!” and starts running with her sister accompanying him!

Then Tamaki san looks at their mother and asks: “Do you have time?” hehehe you should have asked that before hiring the young guides!!! But Matsuuchi san laughs and says it’s fine.

So they get on the bus!

No one else is riding…

so it’s more like a private vehicle for them!

As they reach to the hillside and get off the bus…

The two kids start climbing the stairs in a blink of an eye!

Both Tamaki san and their mother say that they are too fast!

and both laugh out loud XD

As they are walking, Akari chan points at a cave and says:
“Look there’s a cave here!” of course she is showing it to Tamaki san since it’s his first time here.

There are lots of statues of demon inside the cave, made by the children living on the island.

The shapes are very interesting.

Well they don’t get inside because the goal is the observation deck!

The deck is placed right on top of the cave.

And here they are!

Finally there…

“We’re here… the goal!”

says Tamaki san while climbing the last step to the observation deck.

What a great view!!

The four of them stand there enjoying the landscape.

Tamaki san says: “Look! Many birds flying over there!”

And Akari chan says: “That’s true… We are standing even higher than the birds!”

Then as they are enjoying the peaceful view, somehow…

Akari chan says:
“Have you ever fallen down from here?”

O__O Why is she wondering about such thing?!?!

Her mother is surprised and kinda scared maybe, then she says: “No! I have not…” But Tamaki san keeps looking at her with a smile and says with a very calm tone: “That’s not good… thinking about something like that, it’s probably impossible…”

And Akari chan who is probably seriously thinking about giving it a try XD says: “eeee!” then her mother says: “It’s impossible… you will get hurt if you do that!” 

And then Tamaki san says: “Right! I was actually thinking about jumping down too… right before we reach the top… but well I gave up…”  hehehehe!

I think he will become a cool father one day, being able to keep calm even if his children say crazy stuff and letting them do as they want to try new things… but jumping from a mountain is scary even for a cool dad!! XD

★

Back to the port…

it’s time to say goodbye to the kids and their mother.

Tamaki san high fives both Hinata kun and Akari chan,

thanks their mother again… and walks away while waving his hand for them in the air…

Even after getting on the ferry,

they keep waving for each other…

And Tamaki san looks at them with a warm smile and says goodbye to Megijima…

heading to the next destination:

Ogijima

Looking at the houses on the island… Tamaki san says that all the houses are facing the ocean… so they probably have a great view of the sea from their windows!!

Tamaki san gets off the ferry in Ogijima and continues his journey…

But if you don’t mind, I would like to leave that for the next part of the report… Sorry m(_ _)m

Stay tuned cause more and more good stories are about to follow!!

See you soon… ( ´・ω・｀)ﾉ~ﾊﾞｲﾊﾞｲ

★★★

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End of part 1

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Tamaki Hiroshi’s talk show @Tokyo Kasei gakuin University 2015.11.15

Hello my friends! As I had told you before as well, last weekend on November 15th, I had a chance to attend Tamaki san’s talk show at Tokyo Kasei Gakuin University.

This time, the hall was much huger than the last one and had a capacity of 1400 people!! And the great thing is, the tickets were SOLD OUT! XD

Of course… that’s no surprise if the guest is Tamaki Hiroshi!!

I was sitting close to the exit door on the center of the hall. Was expecting Tamaki san to enter the hall from the back, but surprisingly, he used the center exit to enter the hall… too bad he entered from the right side and I was sitting on the left (・・;) But he was pretty close so I was totally satisfied ^^

After the loud screams and excitement of the young audience (The university students) he went up to the stage and stood beside the two girls who were in charge of the MC job on that day. Both very young and one of them (The one standing in the middle, next to Tamaki san) could hardly read anything on her notes because she was too nervous XD That was cute and got even better when Tamaki san teased her in a big brother like way.

So, just like the other show in Ochanomizu University, the two MC girls started the talk by asking Tamaki san a few common questions in the beginning. The nervous girl was not used to using the microphone and she was keeping it too far away from her mouth we couldn’t hear what she says, Tamaki san kept looking at her for a few seconds and then said: “I think you better hold the microphone a little bit closer to your mouth.” hehehe XD and had to repeat that a few more times after that.
Anyway going to the questions (I’ll just write about a few):

Q. What do you expect from your marriage partner?
★ Someone I can talk to in an equal basis, a person who has common interests with me…

The MC girls reaction was a proof that they probably didn’t even understand what he is talking about which shows how young an inexperienced they are… (^_^;) but then Tamaki san asked them “What do  YOU want in your partner?” and one of them said: “Kindness! Someone who doesn’t get mad very often… someone who can forgive me right away even when I mess things up!”  And Tamaki san said that that’s an ipmortant thing as well.

 

Q. Among the countries you have visited until now, is there any country with a strong impression on you?

★ The first time I went to a foreign country, it was a trip to Hawai with my family when I was 20. And after that when I was 24, I went to Africa (Ethiopia) to shoot a TV program called “sekai ururun taizaiki (世界ウルルン滞在記)” and right after a few minutes passes by in that show, I get naked!! (In the show, all the male members of the family used to sleep in one room and completely naked!!) It was a trip full of cultural shocks and unknown life habits. But I think the person I am now, I can bear with many things I faced back then, much better than how I did in the past. So it’s a place I would like to visit one more time if I can.

Then he did the same thing again and asked the two girls a question: “Where do you want to go?” Seems like the girl has never been outside the country. “Europe!” she replied… then Tamaki san said: “I see… Well France seems to be facing a hard time right now…” The two girls were frozen for a few seconds… probably forgotten about the terror accident in Paris… then one immediately replied: “Oh! Because of the current events!” in Japanese she said  jiji neta and Tamaki san used the chance to tease her and said chichi neta? (^_^;)　 Everyone laughed and the girls were embarrassed… he was trying to break the ice and I guess he just made the girls more nervous XD

 

Q. Is there any other job you want to do beside voice acting…

Here Tamaki san stopped her and said “Voice acting?!” (In Japanese it’s Seiyuu: Voice actor and Haiyuu: Actor, seems like the girl messed up the kanji and read haiyuu as seiyuu (^_^; ) Then Tamaki san said: “I’m an actor you know! I do voice acting as well but my main career is acting…” hahahahaha well everyone laughed XD Then he continued: “There are other things like taking photos or making cloths I have interests in, but as a lifetime job career, I cannot think of any other job but acting.”

 

Then just like the other talk show in Ochanomizu, two videos were displayed on the big screen behind them. Again they moved to the corner with their chairs but Tamaki san recommendded not to sit on the chairs because the audience couldn’t watch if they did. Just like the week before, he was careful about that. The PR videos for the movie “Seiro no umi” and the NHK asa drama “asa ga kita” were displayed with a short pause.

After that, they talked about asa ga kita a little bit… but before he starts, Tamaki san asked the audience to raise their hand if they are currently watching the drama… and wow… more than 80% raised their hands and I could see it in his face at that moment, that he was very happy to see this scenery.

Next was the Question box corner. The audience write down their own questions and put them inside the box. Tamaki san picked up the first one by random:

Q. What was the most surprising thing (bikkuri pon, as it is said in the drama by asa) for you this year?

★ Right now I’m living in Osaka. I had never expected myself to live in Osaka for such a long time at the age I am now (Tamaki san moved to Osaka in May, right before the shooting of the NHK asa drama starts. And he will be living there until next year’s February T__T) Life in Osaka has so many good things with it of course… but there are some unfortunate things as well. I cannot live my life in my own pace as I used to do, and all my friends are in Tokyo as well. I wasn’t expecting it to be this long so it might be the most surprising thing for me this year! (He looked kinda sad when he said that but I’m sure he is enjoying Osaka in his own way ^^ Tamaki sa ganbare ♡ !!)

 

Q. Picking up the question and reading the name, he also happened to see the question and after passing the paper to the MC girl, his hand went into the box again while saying: That’s not a question…”Are you OK?” it says… YES! I’m OK! **hahahahahaha!!! Looked cute when he said that!!**

 

Q.  I happened to drink more than I should the other night and fell down, and hit my head hard when I was walking in the street. I had to go to the hospital and take a CT!! Have you ever had a bad accident because of drinking alcohol?

★ (With eyes wide open!) Are you OK?! Did you bleed?! Nothing went wrong after that? (Kept asking questions like that with a surprised but very kind tone in his voice!) Well that’s good to hear. As for me, I haven’t had anything like an accident for the last 10 years. The last time something like that happened was on my 24th birthday. In a very short time, 100 of my friends gathered for my birthday party and that made me so happy I lost my mind and kept drinking tequila like an idiot. Guess I drank 4 bottles all by myself… But after there was no more tequila, I switched to Vodka… I’m not really good with Vodka. I don’t remember what happened after that… (Well if you are his fan, you probably know what happened after that!! XD )

 

Q.  If you were born once again, will you become an actor again?

★ I’m fine with the person I am now. I never though about becoming someone else… So if it happens, I think I want it to be the way it is now. Even though I regret not studying good enough when I was young.

 

Q. What was the last movie you watched in a movie theater?

★ It was a looong time ago… what was the titel? I can’t remember the title (Trying so hard to remember…) “Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen”. Kondou masaomi san who is playing the role of my father in the drama now, appears in the movie… so I went to watch it. It was 6 months ago so I haven’t watched anything in the movies for almost half a year. Well I have the movies at home now (a Movie room perhaps?) but it’s in my house in Tokyo.

 

Q.  Is there a habit you would like to change in yourself?

★ The way I laugh at something, even if it’s a really interesting thing, I always make a sound and laugh from my nose **Hehehehe yeah you do!!** Haru chan (Haru is the actress playing the role of Asa, his wife, in the drama) always says that I should stop that because some people may find that offensive! But even if you want to, you cannot change your way of laughing right? She also has her own way of laughing. When she is laughing really hard, from the bottom of her heart, she opens her mouth and laughs without making a single sound… like this (Here he imitated Haru chan’s laughter and made us all laugh) I asked her if she can change this and she said that she can’t.  See? You cannot do that XD

The one girl who was nervous in the beginning, made many mistakes and was nervous until the end. Tamaki san said: “Are you OK?” many times when she was almost silent for seconds. He actually lowered his head and looked at her face XD He was kinder than ever even when he was teasing her. He could feel that she is very nervous. Well it helped her or made her even more nervous, I don’t know XD But he is always a sadist and he was not on that day…

 

After the Question BOX corner ended, Tamaki san picked up the numbers of 5 seats from another box randomly. The 5 lucky winners went up to the stage, said their names, shook his hand and got his sign with their own names right beside Tamaki san’s sign. One of the winners was a young boy!! I think he was 10 or something… Tamaki san actually sat down and made his body’s height equal to the young man and shook his hand. NICE!

 

Thank you for reading this report until the end. There are always many things said in an event like this but there is no record left and all I can rely on is my own memory and the Japanese reports written by my dear friends. Wish I could write more but this is all I can remember. Hope you enjoyed!!

Thanks again and see you soon!!

( ´・ω・｀)ﾉ~ﾊﾞｲﾊﾞｲ

Amami～Kakeromajima (3)

Hello my friends!!

Finally, I’m here with the last part of the English report for the

Amami～Kakeromajima journey.

Tamaki san gets on the boat to have a look around the island. His guide is Houshin san.

They find a white goat on a cliff of one of the tiny islands,

Tamaki san whistles with his fingers to get his attention XD

The goat notices them, looks at them and then runs away ^^

Seems like many of them can be found around here. living freely on the island

without the disturbance of the human beings.

They get closer to the island.

In front of them, there’s a very beautiful cave,

made by the power of the waves, creating a huge hole in the heart of the rocks on the island.

Houshin san says that there are Swallows living inside the cave.

And they will come out if you make some noise or call for them.

So Tamaki san starts clapping his hands to make some noise…

then uses his fingers again and whistles loudly!

The tiny birds get out of the cave to see where the noise is coming from.

“It is said that it will rain when the swallows come out…”

Tamaki san says,

“But I didn’t know that they could actually live this close to the water in a cave!”

he adds.

Then they leave the birds and move to another island.

Houshin san points toward the island with his finger and says:

“Tamaki san! Look over there… look carefully!”

And he does as his guide says…

suddenly an amazingly beautiful flow of water jumps out of the rocks!!!

As it’s jumping out from the back of a wale.

Tamaki san is amazed, he holds his camera in his hands and waits for the next one…

“Come out!!” he says with a naughty smile on his face XD

And YES! He captures the moment…

then looks back to see the faces of his team members as well XD

He is really excited ♥(o´艸`)

It’s not a very complicated thing…

there’s a hole in the heart of the stones and when the waves get a little bit strong,

they water enters the hole and the air inisde the whole makes the water come out with pressure like that.
This is all made by the hands of the nature… this is what makes it exciting!

And that’s not the only spot! There are more of them all around the island…

As they move with the boat, another huge splash right in front of them!!

“Woah!!” Tamaki san says!!

Bigger and bigger!!! Much higher than the height of the boat!!

Tamaki san is completely enjoying this…

It is not visible in the image, but one huge splash comes too close

and makes Tamak san turn his body over to protect his camera from getting wet XD

He is super excited…

Then he looks at the camera man and says:
“He is making such a calm face now but the water came all the way here…”

while pointing with his hand XD

Everyone laugh and it’s obvious they are having a good time XD

After that… it’s time to actually take the challenge and ride on a kayak!! O__O

It’s his first time doing something like this and he is very excited…

Well he is already very good at it (^_^;) as expected!

The staff follow him on another boat and as soon as they come close to him,

he looks at them and says: “This is amazing!! Really extravagant!”

riding on the huge waves, moving up and down,

getting all soaked up XD

enjoying it to the fullest!! As expected from him XD

This is one of those moments when words are not enough…
No matter how much I try to explain it, this is one moment you should watch by yourself!

I was shouting with him in front of the TV the first time I watched this XD

Calming down a little bit… they all enter the beautiful cave,

 To make a visit to the Ao no doukutsu (Blue Grotto) inside.

Getting inside the cave, Tamaki san says that it’s a whole different world and also mentions

that it’s much warmer than outside the cave.

To see the Blue Grotto, you should go deeper inside the cave,

but since the waves are too strong today,

Houshin san says that they cannot go any further… >__<

That’s a shame but on a normal day, this is how the water inside the cave looks like.

Beautiful…

I can image Tamaki san floating freely on the water…
Just use your imagination and he is there XD

After coming out of the cave again,

Tamaki san says that it’s OK even if they couldn’t go deeper…

“I’m overwhelmed by the power of the nature…

After all… when people experience thrill right by their side,

their tension rises up and they become excited!

And I think being able to see an amazing scenery in a situation like that, 

will make you feel even happier compared to a normal situation. 

I’m glad I was able to see many different faces of kakeromajima.

I think that might be the appeal of this island,

and the reason why it can attract so many people to come and visit the place.”

Tamaki san, can really enjoy every little thing to its fullest!

As the narrator of the show says:

Being able to enjoy the destination of your trip or not,

it all depends on the abilities of the traveler himself!

^^

Another journey comes to an end…

And Tamaki san’s best shot in Kakeromajima ↓

 

★★★

Next…

Tamaki san goes to setonaikai islands in Kagawa prefecture…

Encounters…

New things to discover…

And enjoying the beautiful sceneries…

So please stay tuned!!

Will be back soon… ( ´・ω・｀)ﾉ~ﾊﾞｲﾊﾞｲ

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End of part 3

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玉木宏の秘境ふれあい紀行

The broadcast has stopped.

BS Asahi, 2014.10.02～2015.09.24

Every Thursday at 23:00

You can still check out the official pages here:

Official Homepage: http://www.bs-asahi.co.jp/tamaki-hiroshi/
FB Official: https://www.facebook.com/tamaki.hikyo?ref=profile

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Tamaki Hiroshi’s talk show @Ochanomizu University 2015.11.7

Hello again and this time I’m here with a totally different subject!!

As you may already know, Tamaki san gets invited to many school festivals every year to have a talk show (one hour) for the students of the university. So this time, just as the two last years since I came to Japan, I had the chance to attend the show. Of course I’m not a student of this university but well… Tamaki Hiroshi’s fans will never leave his side! We are always there for him no matter where he goes 🙂

This was his second time having a talk show in Ochanomizu (All girls) university. But he actually said that he doesn’t remember a thing about the first time (2010).

So the show started with some usual questions about his career and his background. Of course all of you know about it so I will skip most of it… just a few interesting points:

– What kind of a job would you like to do beside acting?

☆ Can’t really think of any. Maybe something related to designing cloths (Fashion) but not really… it will be too hard to start a new career so I guess no other jobs for me.

– Which area’s dialect do you like?

☆ Like the dialect we use in the Asa drama (Senba kotoba) and Kyuushuu area too I guess. Hakata dialect perhaps.

– What are the three major conditions for becoming your girlfriend?

☆ I don’t have any. Not even one. I want her to be free as she is. Don’t expect her to work hard to be something else as long as we can match with each other.

After that, we got to see the teaser of the movie “Seirou no umi” for the first time. In order to make it easier for the audience to see the screen behind them, Tamaki san and the two MC girls (Both students of the same university, one in her first year and one in her second year) moved their chairs to the corner. The two girls were about to sit down but Tamaki san said that the people sitting in the corner can’t see!! He was right… so they all moved to the end corner of the stage and Tamaki san looked at the audience carefully and asked the viewers in the corner: “Can you see? Can you really see from there?” hehehehe so HIM!! He’s always like that.

After the movie trailer, we also got to watch the trailer of “Asa ga kita” on the screen.

After that they moved the chair back to where they were and one funny thing is Tamaki san grabbed his own chair and moved it but someone from the backstage (Another student) ran in to him and took it from him XD hehhehe so he let go of it and let the girl be the one carrying it.

Then they talked a little bit about the movie and the drama which I will skip again… sorry!!

One of the interesting corners is the Q&A corner! All the viewers in the hall, can write down their questions on a piece of paper and put it in the question box. Tamaki san will put his hand inside the box and pick up a question by chance. He always asks the MC to read the question, saying that it ill be weird if he asks the question and answers it by himself!! So he reads the name (or nickname) of the person, she/ he will raise hand (if they are not too shy to do so!) and he will pass the paper to the MC to read the question for him. He answers the question looking at the face of the person who asked it… so it really is a challenging thing to do XD

I will write down as many as I remember and get help from the report of my dear Japanese friends to remember more.

– I sweat a lot recently. Are you OK with girls who sweat a lot?! (Hahaha what a nice start!)
☆ I don’t mind seeing the natural and hard working face of her, but it depends on the level of the smell! (Laughs)
– What’s the secret of staying young?
☆ Let your body age appropriately. I think It’s better to let things go as they naturally should. I used to pretend to be older when I was young but now that I’mm 35, I never try to look younger or older. But I get rid of the stress by focusing on my hobby.

– What type of a student were you, when you were in Junior high school? (A question from a person who is studying in Junior high school)

☆I decided to become an actor when I was in Junior high and took the audition for another office back then. We came to Tokyo for our field trip and that was when I decided to come live in Tokyo one day. (Tamaki san was born and raised in Nagoya)

– Tell us about your fashion today.

☆ I always choose and wear my own cloths for school festivals. And it costs me a lot of money you know! (Everyone laughed) My pants are from RICK OWENS, And the knit is from DRIES VAN NOTEN → (http://www.buyma.com/item/18347507/)

-You were holding a cat in your arms in a scene from the asa drama. What happened to your cat allergy?

☆ It’s work. I had to do it. But I HATE cats!! If I touch them, I should avoid touching my eyes no matter what. And I have to wash my hands right away. There are times I keep sneezing of course.

– How do you memorize your lines?

☆ I do it at home. In a totally silent situation. There are some people who go to a cafe for study or work… but I can never do that. I don’t listen to music and of course I never turn on the TV. Otherwise I cannot keep them in my mind.

– What would you want to do if the world was about to end tomorrow?!

☆ There’s really nothing I would like to change about my life. I’ll probably stay away from the people I dislike and try to spend the last hours with someone I care for. Or anyone I think it’s nice to be with (Laughs) I love yakiniku (Korean BBQ) so I’d rather eat that… But don’t want to eat alone. With others of course. Or nabe (Hot pot) with everyone if it’s cold!

– What’s the most important thing in (your) life?

☆Not committing any kind of crime!! (Laughs) Live decently. Even during the tough times, if you think “This is the toughest period”, you can manage to get over it by working hard.

– A memory with the strongest impression on you?
☆ The other day we had to shoot a scene for “asa ga kita”. It was almost the first time I actually talked to Miyake san (Playing the role of Kisuke in the drama) and there was this scene where we were both running and suddenly I stop and Miyake san bumps into me and falls down on the ground. When we were shooting, he bumped into me and the minute he fell down, I heard his farting sound!! (ahahahahaha!!! We all busted out laughing!!) but that made us laugh and all the nervous feelings we had because of our first meeting, were all gone in a moment.  XD
– Tamaki san has a very masculine body if he takes of his cloths… (・・;) Had any of your outfits been ripped off because of your masculine body?!  (What kind of a question was that?! hehe)
☆(a little bit confused) Of course none of them has been ripped off because of that. But once when we were shooting Nodame, the white shirt I was wearing under my Jacket was too tight I couldn’t move my arms up freely. So the staff cut the back of the shirt,  in a way that it won’t be noticeable after wearing the jacket on it. (BTW, he mentioned that he weights 71kgs right now ^^)

– During the food eating scenes in the drama, is there actually real food inside the bowls?
☆It’s all real and very delicious. The staff who worked on the shooting set of the drama “gochisousan” actually prepare all the food for these scenes. In order to make the situation real, we eat some of it before we start shooting. They always prepare a lot in case we have NG takes. So there are even times when we get to eat some during the breaks we have.

(The person who asked this question was sitting next to me!!! So he was looking at us all the time while answering the question… O__O Hard to breath!!!)

– When the shooting of the asa drama ends, is there a reward you want to give to yourself?

☆It won’t end anytime soon, guess I will come back to Tokyo in Spring. hmmm well I will let my body rest a little bit. But of course I have to start preparing for the next job as well (Here one of the MC girls asked him if he is tired…) No! I never say I’m tired. Even if I am, I never say it. It will just make you feel even more tired, right? (I love this way of thinking!)

After the Q&A corner ended, he picked up 3 seat numbers out of a box and three lucky ladies won his sign with their own names written beside it. Going up to the stage, saying their names, have him write it down for them, get the sign, shake his hand and then coming down. A few magical seconds you will never forget XD
Sorry if it wasn’t as detailed as it should be. Hope you enjoyed reading.
I’m gong to another talk show next week and I hope I can find the time to write about that one as well.

Take care and see you soon!

( ´・ω・｀)ﾉ~ﾊﾞｲﾊﾞｲ

2 days in Osaka with Shinjirou san… BK Wonderland and the premium talk show!! (Day 1)

Hello my friends and thank you all for supporting this tiny blog all the time ^^
Today I’m not going to write about Hikyo and Tamaki san’s Journey in Kakeromajima!!!

But instead, I will be writing about a very nice and special event in Osaka NHK broadcasting station.

I’m sure you already know about the NHK asa drama (Morning drama) being broadcasted every morning here in Japan. It’s attracting a lot of attention and has been very successful since the day the broadcasting has started all around the country. It really is a masterpiece and knowing that Tamaki Hiroshi san (Playing the role of Shirooka Shinjirou, Asa chan’s husband) is a part of it, makes me incredibly happy. A perfect step up to the professional acting world at the age of 35! He’s doing a great job and many many good comments and articles related to his wonderful acting skills have been published everywhere on the the web and many TV magazines.

あさが来た (asa ga kita) official home page: http://www.nhk.or.jp/asagakita/index.html

OK… sorry for the long introduction! Let’s get to the point… BK Wonderland!! (2015.10.31～11.3)

This is an event to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Osaka NHK (BK) and a great chance to promote the Asa drama which is one of the biggest productions of the station right now. Yes… this time the whole process of making the drama takes place in Osaka. As a result, Tamaki san has been living in Osaka since the shooting has started in May 2015.

During the BK Wonderland event, the visitors were able to see many things they usually don’t get to see!!

One of the coolest things was being able to visit the shooting set!!

If you have already watched the drama, you know about Kanoya (The money exchange shop which belongs to Shinjirou’s family)

 

This is where Shinjirou san sits down and yawns all the time ^^

And this is the place where all the clercks and Shinjirou’s father work.

 

And the lovely maneki neko ↑ made by Yono san, Shinjirou’s mother XD

Oh!! There he is XD

A real size photo stand of Shinjirou san…. hmm but to be honest, this stand is a little bit bigger than the real size XD Standing beside him makes it obvious for you if you had met the real Tamaki Hiroshi in person XD

On the second day, the staff actually moved the stand and took it out to the front space where visitors can stand beside him and take photos with him XD ↑ I had already done that in Tokyo so I didn’t approach him this time… He was really popular!!

Taking a closer look at the set, you can see how much effort they have put on making every single detail!!

Everything looks perfect. All the objects and every single paper and notebook they have on the tables… wow!! IS the only thing I can say!

and also the coal mine which has not appeared in the drama yet, but we will get to see it soon ^^

Another fun corner is where the “asae” are!! “asae” is reffered to the fan-made drawings sent by the viewers. Some of them are really great! The sense of humor and the ability to make every dialogue more interesting than it already is… some fans are really good at creating “asae”.

On a normal routine, the staff will show the drawings to the cast and then hang them on the walls all over their resting room. But during the event, some of the drawings were brought to the main hall and participated in the “asae” exhibition. As a huge surprise, my drawing of Shinjirou san with the shamisen in his hand was chosen as well… O_O Thank you so much!!! That really made me happy!!!

It doesn’t look like him I know! Forgive me for my poor drawing skills >__<

It was so much fun moving around the hall and finding stuff related to the drama… meeting with dear friends and talking about Shinjirou san all the time XD BUT… the main event was the premium talk show!!

On the first day, Tamaki san and Haru san (Playing the role of Asa in the drama) were the special guests of the event. You could get the tickets to the talk show for free… BUT you had to be interested enough to stay in a long line for hours!!

Thanks to our lovely friends in Kansai area, we managed to get inside the hall and actually sit in the front block, right in front of the stage!! Sitting there for a few minutes and talking to friends made me even more excited…

Then the talk show began as the MC (Sugiura announcer, the person in charge of doing all the narration in the drama) walked into the stage. After a short introduction, sugiura san invited the two guests to step on the stage… but where are they going to enter the hall from?!?! XD One of the most interesting part of events like this….

Then the doors in the back of the hall opened and here they come!!! facing the stage, Haru san started walking the steps down from the right and Tamaki san entered from the stairs on the left side!!! I was sitting on the right side of the hall and as cruel as it may be, I whispered “aaaa only if it was the opposite!!” hehehehehe but they came all the way down the stairs, stood there in the middle of the hall for a few seconds and waved their hands for the audience… and guess what?! They changed places and this time Tamaki san walked toward the right side and Haru san went to the left!!! >__< YES! he passed right next to us while saying hello to everyone and thanking them. XD THANK you!

Tamaki san is of course used to this kind of excitement but Haru san was a little bit shocked hearing all the screaming and shouting in the hall!! XD

As the talk started, they both talked about the responses they have received from people around them, since the day the broadcast of the drama has started. But they both said that they are always here in the broadcasting station’s studio all day long shooting the drama… so they don’t really find the time to discover what people think. Tamaki san said that he receives some good vibes every time he eats outside and the owner of the shop talks to him… and Haru san said that she has been in touch with her family and somehow she added that they are big fans of Godai san!! (Godai is one of the characters in the drama, played by Dean Fujioka)… here Tamaki san looked at her with a serious face and said: “Oi! Give me a break!” hahahaha of course we all laughed including Tamaki san himself. Godai is in a way, Shinjirou’s rival in the drama XD

Then Sugiura san asked Tamaki san about how he sees Haru san as a person. Tamaki san said: “She has a sincere attitude, she is very patient, and she treats everyone without discrimination…” then Haru san stopped him saying: “It’s OK. You don’t have to try so hard!” But Tamaki san continued: “No! You have got your feet on the ground I think!”

Then it was Haru san’s turn to talk about Tamaki san: “He is very reliable and becomes very serious when we are working…” Then looked at him and said: “But he is funny too…” Tamaki san became serious again: “What is funny about me?” hehehe Haru san looked at him with a doubtful face, as if she wanted to ask “Is it OK to say it here?!” She does that very often when they show up on TV or in talk shows like this… as if he knows what you want to say!!! XD Just say it anyway XD and then she continued: “Did you know Tamaki san had never tried eating melon bread because he used to think there is melon inside?!” hahahaha everyone laughed including Tamaki san! But he became serious right away and said: “Why did they even name it like that if there is no melon inside?! I tried eating it after I found out there’s no melon in it and it was actually very delicious!! They should just change the name!!!” hehehehehe well funny thing is, I used to think the same way since last month when I found out that it’s just the shape!!! But well I’m not Japanese XD hehehehe

Then each one of them talked about their roles but I will just translate Tamaki san’s talk. He said that Shinjirou is a very hard character to play. Bringing out the tenderness and keeping the balance was tough for him in the beginning. Based on the story, soon the reason why Shinjirou hates working and being involved in his family business will be relieved. Tamaki san said that it became easier for him to play Shinjirou after he found out about the reason!

Then Sugiura san talked about Haru san’s audition for the drama and how she had to play Sumo (Japanese style wrestling) with another actress during the audition. Seems like the producer liked her a lot and said that he already knew she’s got good qualities but didn’t know she’s got this much will power. Someone from the audience said “Best in Japan!” and somehow Tamaki san followed him shouting: “Best in Japan!”

Then Haru san said that she knew she has to do Sumo, so she went there wearing jeans, easy to move kind of outfit…but somehow Tamaki san said: “Jeans? It’s not easy to move in jeans, is it? I thought you would wear something like training pants… but jeans?!…” But Haru san said that jeans are easy to move with and there’s no way she can go to NHK wearing training pants!!! Also said that there were some girls wearing skirts…Tamaki san laughed and said: “sore wa akan na!” which means that’s not good in kansai dialect!! hehehe he is already using kansai words naturally!

Then they talked about Shinjirou’s shamisen. Tamaki san said that he has been practicing since 2 months before the shooting of the drama starts and it’s really hard because he cannot look at the shamisen when he plays. So he has to figure it out by listening to the sounds he makes. Seems like he was told by his shamisen teacher that he is learning what a normal person would learn in 3 and a half years when they start playing this instrument!!! >__< Just in case you don’t know, the sound you hear in the drama, is all recorded on the set!! So… not a single mistake is allowed!! Very stressful and tough. But Tamaki san said that there will be more shamisen scenes from now on XD I LOVE the way he plays the shamisen… but hearing how tough it is, don’t know if I should be praying for more shamisen playing shinjirou san scenes or not (^_^;)

After that, a VTR was shown on the screen behind them. A selection of the scenes in which Asa says “Bikkuripon” which is known as the phrase she uses a lot and shows her “surprised” feelings. When the VTR Ended, a voice was heard from the audience “CUTE!” But Haru san said: “It’s your imagination!” hehehe everyone laughed but Tamaki san scolded her: “What was that? Accept it and be thankful!” hahahahahahaha he really becomes an older brother sometimes!! She laughed and thanked everyone.

Then right after that, they showed another VTR… a selection of all the scenes in which Shinjirou san is spinning his pouch in the air. If you have not watched the drama yet, it may be hard to imagine XD So I’ll paste a photo:
He does that all the time!! while the VTR was being screened… hm?!?! Somehow… there were many white pouches being spinned in the air… right around the center of the block I was sitting in!! XD hehehehe Tamaki san’s fans had planned all this and made the pouches by themselves to surprise him. Spinning them in the air just like he does XD Tamaki san of course noticed that from the beginning but tried so hard not to laugh or say anything until it’s the best time… when the VTR ended… Tamaki san said: “YES! Spin them more!! it’s getting cool! Bikkuripon ya!!” ahahahahaha!!! Nice mixture of both pouch spinning and bikkuri pon VTRs! XD finally he laughed out loud and the audience of course laughed with him!! But he said that he is not doing that on his own. Every scene Shinjirou spins his pouch, it is written in the script “While spinning his pouch”. Then he said that he is becoming better at spinning it XD And he even taught us the technique and the fans tried it with their handmade pouches right there ^^

After that, they were asked to talk about Miyazaki Aoi chan who plays the role of Asa’s sister, “Hatsu” in the drama.

Haru san said: “She is very quiet and gentle… just like the role she plays…” And Tamaki san said: “She doesn’t talk too much, only when it’s necessary.”  Haru san turned her face toward him and said: “You mean not like me!”  Tamaki san said: “She is mature!” hehehe this didn’t help and Haru san said with a sad-jealous voice: “Again!” Tamaki san tried to fix it so he apologized: “Sorry sorry… It’s because you are the mood maker!” And if you ask me… this didn’t help either XD hehehehehe I love Tamaki san’s stratght forward words! He doesn’t lie…

Then if I’m not mistaken, they talked about the Kanoya set and Sugiura san mentioned that everyone can enter the set and visit the kanoya shop during the event (Just the first 2 days). Seems like they didn’t know that… Tamaki san was surprised so he asked the audience: “You can actually go inside?” Everyone said yes and then he kinda talked to everyone about the details for a few seconds as if he was talking to his old friends… well!! One thing is for sure, it really feels like that if you actually know him and become a member of his fan club. Heartland is the perfect name for Tamaki Hiroshi’s fan club ^^

After that they talked about an important scene… Where the Shinsengumi comes to the shop and wants to borrow money by force, but Asa stands in front of him strongly and speaks her mind even though her legs were shaking out of fear!!

About that shaking legs XD Haru san actually said that she didn’t know how to do it so he went to Tamaki san before they take that scene and asked for his advice. And when Sugiura san asked Tamaki san what his advice was, he said: “I just played it for her!” I don’t remember if it was Sugiura san or the audience who asked him to show us how… but he stood up and actually played it for us!! O__O It was perfect and he did it without even thinking about it XD

A kiss scene comes right after the shinsengumi scene and Sugiura san wanted to talk about this so bad from the very beginning! She even once actually said: “Don’t change the subject!” to Tamaki san when he almost trid to do so XD hehehehe

Tamaki san said that the angel was really important and they didn’t want to actually show the kissing scene directly. So he had to be careful about the position of his shoulder and his movements all the time. Haru san also said that shooting a kiss scene is actually really not romantic most of the times!!! XD

I this scene, after kissing Asa, Shinjirou opens the sliding doors, holds Asa in his arms like a princess, takes her into their futon (bed) and then turns back toward the camera, sits down and perfectly closes the sliding door and his shadow fades away… (o´艸`) a breathtaking scene I can say!!!!

seems like he suggested showing Shinjirou’s shadow taking off his cloths!!! ahahahahaha but it was too much for a morning drama so they didn’t do that!! (^_^;) it’s already too sexy!!
The way he closes the sliding door is pretty amazing. Sugiura san asks him how he can do that perfectly. He said that it wasn’t that hard actually.. he just had to sit on the center of the sliding door’s frame so that he can close it perfectly. hmmm but I’m sure he has practiced it to make it look as perfect as it is!

They also had a very short question corner, answering one question they have received from the audience. Tamaki san’s question was about his Osaka dialect and how he became so good at it. He stood up, greeted the viewer who wrote this question and answered her as he was standing. His manners and the way he is always careful about talking to his audience with respect is a very unique and lovely part of his character. He explained in detail about how he receives the guidance from his teacher and how he listens to audio files and repeats the dialogues to practice his lines.

In the end, they both thanked everyone and talked a little bit about how the story will move on in teh next week. Mostly about the romantic relationship between Asa and Shinjirou…

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To be continued!!!! O__O

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